Original 6: New England links to Cup-winning Kings

Clockwise from top left, the New England connections on the Stanley
Cup-winning Los Angeles Kings include: Scout Bob Crocker, a former
BU assistant coach; Assistant Equipment Manager Dana Bryson, a
UMass-Lowell alum who has also worked with Northeastern, the
Providence Bruins and Manchester Monarchs; GM Dean Lombardi, a
Holyoke, Mass., native; Head Coach John Stevens, whose son, John,
was a standout at Salisbury School and now plays at Northeastern;
the Kings' AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs; Hamden, Conn.,
native Jon Quick, who backstopped the Kings to their second title
in three years; and Hockey Operations official Jack Ferreira, a
Providence native who was an All-American at BU. (Photos/Getty
Images and LA Kings)

The Stanley Cup belongs to the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings won
three Game 7’s en route to the final, where they defeated the
Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers in five games to claim
the Cup for the second time in three seasons. The team’s
California home might sit three time zones away at the shore of the
Pacific Ocean, but New England connections are aplenty.

1. Jonathan Quick

Quick is New England born, raised (Hamden, Conn.) and educated
(Avon Old Farms and UMass-Amherst) and was the backbone for both of
the Kings’ titles, starting every game of both playoff runs.
It was not easy from the start as Quick allowed 16 goals over the
first three games of this postseason to San Jose before ripping off
six straight wins and leading the team to a total of 16 wins in the
playoffs. He saved his best for last, winning four of the final
five games, including a June 9 shutout of New York in the Stanley
Cup Final and a 28-save effort in L.A.’s title-clinching
victory in Game 5. Quick, a member of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team
and a 2007 Hockey East All-Star, also was awarded the Conn Smythe
Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the Kings’ run to the
Cup in 2012.

2. Dean Lombardi

Lombardi, born in Holyoke, Mass., and raised nearby in Ludlow,
has served as the Kings’ general manager since 2006-07 and
has been at the forefront of the franchise’s rise to the top
of the NHL. Lombardi is responsible for all aspects of hockey
operations, including player personnel and scouting, as well as
overseeing the operations of the team’s American Hockey
League affiliate Manchester Monarchs. He has made player
development and the draft a key part of his philosophy, making sure
to stockpile prospects for the future and improve his scouting
staff. This philosophy has stood strong despite a core of talented
veterans leading the Kings to two titles in three seasons.

3. Jack Ferreira

Ferreira is a professional hockey veteran of more than 40 years
and has spent nearly a decade as special assistant to the general
manager, working alongside the Hockey Operations department with
Dean Lombardi and assistant GM Rob Blake. The Providence
native’s hockey résumé is long, beginning as an
All-American goaltender at Boston University (1963-66) — he
was later enshrined into the Terrier Hall of Fame. He served as a
collegiate assistant coach for a few years following his BU career,
including a stint at Brown from 1970-72. Ferreira spent time as a
scout for the Calgary Flames and worked the New England area for
the NHL Central Scouting Service in the late 1970s, and he was an
original member of the Anaheim Ducks management team, primarily
responsible for drafting former Maine star Paul Kariya in 1993 and
acquiring Teemu Selanne in 1996.

4. Behind the scenes

The Kings’ staff also features two more behind-the-scenes
personnel with local connections in Bob Crocker (Northeastern
United States amateur scout) and Dana Bryson (assistant equipment
manager). Crocker is a former assistant coach and chief recruiter
at Boston University and is an avid supporter of the Terriers
hockey program to this day.

Bryson, a UMass-Lowell alumnus who worked his 100th professional
hockey game this past April, has worked with the Los Angeles Kings
since 2005 and also spent time at Northeastern University and with
the AHL’s Providence Bruins and Manchester Monarchs.

5. Manchester Monarchs

The Kings’ top minor-league affiliate has called the
Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., home since 2001, and
the Manchester Monarchs enjoyed an excellent season in 2013-14.
Manchester topped the American Hockey League’s Eastern
Conference standings by five points, collecting 48 wins in the
regular season before a disappointing loss in the opening round of
the playoffs. Although the record might not always be there, the
Monarchs have developed many members of the current Kings roster,
including Jonathan Quick, captain Dustin Brown and Game 5
golden-goal scorer Alec Martinez.

6. John Stevens

Stevens, who was promoted to associate head coach on June 18,
just completed his fourth season as an assistant on Darryl
Sutter’s staff. He is a New Brunswick native and former NHL
defenseman drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers, but his New England
connections involve his son, John. The junior Stevens, who attended
Salisbury School in Connecticut and played three other sports in
addition to hockey, was tied for second on Northeastern’s
outstanding freshman class this past season with seven goals and 22
points while playing in all 37 games. In addition to being drafted
by Philadelphia, his father served as the Flyers’ head coach
from 2006-09.